Some stuff about Writin'.

So, Chapter 2 of The End of All That Was is finished and now in the editing phase, and work begins on the next chapter. But as I sit here staring at a blank page in a Google doc entitled "Chapter 3", swirling a glass of merlot as if I'm classy, I feel compelled to jot down some words about the process of writing, mainly because nothing else is coming to mind.

As I write, I tend to be very self-critical, which is a blessing at some times and a curse at others. My mind plagues me with questions throughout the whole creative process: Is this story interesting? Will the readers enjoy it? Is it moving too slow? Too fast? Should there be more action or less? Did I phrase that sentence properly? Is it clear what's happening? Should I be more subtle? Is it too long? Too short?

See, there's a lot more to writing in general, and fiction in particular, than is obvious to the casual reader. It's very much a game of balance. You want to make sure the setting and the plot are clear, but you can't just drown the reader in exposition; it has to be revealed along with the action of the story. By the same token, if you move the story along too quickly, it will feel abrupt and unsatisfying. But string it out for too long, and no one will have the patience to get to the end, no matter how good the story itself is.

Of course, the most important thing you need if you want to tell a good story is simple: You need a good story. That means planning out your characters, the events they participate in, and the conclusion it arrives at. Here we find the need for another balance. Plan too much and you'll find yourself confined by the strict rules of your own creation. Don't plan at all, and the readers will quickly see that you're just making the thing up as you go along, a feat very few authors can pull off with style.

So, you've got your outline, you know who your characters are and what they're gonna do, you know what will happen and how it all ends. You sit down at your computer or writing desk... Now what? How do you start? Where do you begin on this epic literary journey, and how do you introduce your readers to the world you've created in your mind?

I've always maintained that the two most important parts of a story are always it's very beginning and it's absolute end. Arguments could be made for one being more important than the other, but it's my belief that they carry equal weight. From a viewpoint of pure storytelling, the end is the most important part, because that's the entire point. You read a story to see what happens at the end. A story without an ending is no story at all. From a mechanical standpoint, however, the beginning is more important, since that's what draws your readers in, hooks them, and gets them reading in the first place. Without a good beginning, you have no audience, and then what's the point of telling the story in the first place?

This is what prompted me to write this little stack of self-indulgent paragraphs, as I stare at the blank first page of a new chapter and search for those all-important opening words. I can already see how the next few hours will go, because I've done it before. I'll spend part of it writing out a variety of sentences and then erasing them. I'll spend even more time wondering at what point exactly I should pick the story back up from the previous chapter, and from the perspective of which character. I'll agonize about how best to work the appropriate themes and events into the action and dialogue without seeming too heavy-handed. I'll probably refer back to the ending of Chapter 2 several times, and possibly even rewrite it.

It's gonna be a long night. I need some more wine.